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Assessing Pito Contamination of Heavy Metals (Pb, Cu And Zn) from Local Aluminium Pots in Navrongo

Christopher Njorfuni

A heavy metal is any metallic element that has relatively high density, some of which are toxic or poisonous even at low concentrations. Example Pb, Cr, Hg, etc. Exposure to heavy metals can lead to a high proportion of mortality caused by Kidney and Liver morbidity, pains in bones, mutagenic, carcinogenic and teratogenic effects (Ndiokwere, 2004)The study was aimed at assessing pito contamination of heavy metals (Pb, Cu, and Zn) from local Aluminum pots used for brewing pito in Navrongo. Fivepito brewers were randomly selected and their pito samples, waste water after washing the brewing pot, and water used for brewing and for washing the pots were obtained. These were digested using aqua regia and analyses for Pb, Zn, and Cu using AAS. The mean concentrations of the metals in mg/L ranged from not detected to 0.48 for Pb ; not detected for Cu; and 3.68 to 8.52 for Zn in pito, 1.14 to 4.76 for Zn in waste water and 1.14 to 5.84 for Zn in water used for brewing pito. In conclusion the result show that Zinc and Copper contamination may not be due to the local Aluminum pots used for brewing pito but Lead contamination may be due to the local Aluminum pots used for brewing pito.